Three armed men looted Rs273,000 from a bank in Kharadar on Monday. This was the year’s third bank robbery.

The three robbers pulled up outside the United Bank’s Timber Market branch on a motorcycle and then barged into the bank after overpowering the guards, Napier SHO Azam Khan said.

Once inside, the men took the staff and visitors hostage at gunpoint. The robbers threatened the cashier of killing him if he resisted them. They looted Rs273,000 from the cash counter and also snatched the cellphones from the hostages before leaving the bank.

As they were fleeing, the bank guards opened fire at them but the robbers escaped taking advantage of the midday rush.

The CCTV cameras at the bank were not working condition, SHO Khan said. The bank had also not followed the standard operating procedures for security issued by the DIG South.

On January 7, two security guards were killed by robbers during the first bank heist of the year. The bandits had entered the private bank in Korangi and tried to hold the bank staff hostage on gunpoint. When the bank guards offered resistance, the robbers opened fire and killed one of the guards on the spot. The other guard was also injured and later succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.

Then on January 20, three armed bandits robbed Rs270,000 from a bank branch in Gol Market, Nazimabad. The robbers had barged into the bank and held the staff and three security guards hostage at gunpoint. The man fled after looting the money from the cash counter.

Jewellery shop looted

A jewellery shop in Azizabad was robbed of Rs1 million and ornaments worth millions of rupees. SSP Central Amir Farooqi said unidentified robbers broke into the Shaheen Jewellers shop at Karimabad from the rear wall and tied up the two guards standing at the shop. The owners told the police the suspects broke the locker using gas welding machine. The SSP said four months ago a similar robbery had been committed in the area. He believed the same group of robbers had looted Shaheed Jewellers as well.

Meanwhile, the shopkeepers of the Karimabad Jewellers Market Association staged a protest, demanding the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.